Music

Kid Cudi Clarifies Where He And Kanye West Stand: ‘I Am Not Cool With That Man’

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Just about four years ago, Kanye West and Kid Cudi linked up for a self-titled collaborative album as Kids See Ghosts. Since then, though things between the two have soured significantly. It started after Kim Kardashian and Pete Davidson began dating, when Ye noted in February, “Just so everyone knows Cudi will not be on Donda because he’s friends with you know who.” Cudi fired back, “Too bad I dont wanna be on ur album u f*ckin dinosaur hahaha.”

So, when it was revealed yesterday that Cudi will feature on Pusha T’s upcoming West-produced album It’s Almost Dry, eyebrows were certainly raised. Now, though, Cudi has made it clear this doesn’t mean he and West have patched things up and are on good terms. In fact, the opposite is true.

This morning, Cudi tweeted, “Hey! So I know some of you heard about the song I got w Pusha. I did this song a year ago when I was still cool w Kanye. I am not cool w that man. He’s not my friend and I only cleared the song for Pusha cuz thats my guy. This is the last song u will hear me on w Kanye -Scott.”

So, don’t hold your breath for another Kids See Ghosts album.

Future Recalls Working With Kanye West During The Early Days Of His Career: ‘Kanye Flew Me To Paris’

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After going a full year without releasing a full-length solo studio album, Future is back. Set to release his ninth album this month, the title of which is to be announced, Future spoke with GQ, detailing a “vulnerable” new project, recalling working with Drake, and sharing stories about his early days working with Kanye West.

Before putting out his first major-label album Pluto in 2012, he recalled working under the tutelage of Ye, who has since remained one of his most frequent collaborators.

“Me and Kanye always had a relationship,” Future said. “But it’s hard for people to understand because I don’t put everything on Instagram. Kanye flew me to Paris in 2011 or 2012 to work on music. [Discussing] his clothing line before it came, his shoe business before it came. People don’t know I’ve been able to go to his house and pull up right into the crib. We just never talked about it.”

Future and Ye collaborated on 2014’s “I Won,” and Ye enlisted Future to executive produce his 2022 album, Donda 2. Atlanta rapper Young Scooter also posted footage on his Instagram Story of Ye and Future on the set of a music video, thought to be from Future’s upcoming album. Last year, Ye called Future “the most influential artist of the past 10 years” on the Drink Champs podcast.

“When he said that, I understood why he called me to Paris, even though I didn’t understand it at that time,” says Future. “I understood why we had certain conversations. I understood him being a part of ‘I Won.’ Even him having me write on certain [Kanye] albums that people don’t even understand I wrote on…Sometimes not getting credit when you write with him because the love of the art is…I want it to be right. Top tier. Just being able to create and put those textures over different music, and being involved with something like that.”

Future’s ninth studio album is out 4/29 via Epic.

Lil Baby Earns His 100th Song On The Hot 100 Chart, Which Only A Few Artists Have Ever Done

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Jack Harlow is the toast of this week’s Billboard Hot 100 chart: It was revealed yesterday that “First Class” debuted in the No. 1 spot, making it the second chart-topper of his career so far. That said, if you peek a bit past the top 10 entries of the current chart, it looks like Harlow’s No. 1 may not actually be the week’s biggest accomplishment.

Lil Baby debuted two songs on the Hot 100 this week: “Right On” at No. 13 and “In A Minute” at No. 14. That in itself is nice but doesn’t seem like an especially huge deal. Looking at the big picture, though, it actually is, as those songs are Baby’s 99th and 100th to appear on the chart.

This feat puts Baby in rare territory, as only a handful of artists (12, counting him) have ever landed 100 or more songs on the Hot 100 in their career: Drake (who has 260 entries on the chart), Glee (207), Lil Wayne (180), Taylor Swift (166), Kanye West (135), Future (132), Nicki Minaj (123), Elvis Presley (109), Chris Brown (107), Jay-Z (104), Justin Bieber (103), and now, Lil Baby (100).

Also worth noting is how early in his career Baby reached 100 entries: His first single was only just released in 2017. The next “youngest” (in terms of when their first single was released) artist on the list is Future, whose debut single arrived in 2011. He’s actually the youngest (in terms of actual age) solo artist to do it, too, but just barely: When Bieber got his 100th Hot 100 song on July 20, 2021, he was 27 years, 4 months, and 19 days old, which was the record at the time. When Baby did it yesterday, he was 27 years, 4 months, and 15 days old, a mere four days younger than Bieber was.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

DJ Khaled Was Sent Back To His Courtside Seat After He Airballed A Shot During The Miami Heat’s Game

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DJ Khaled is always full of energy, at least when he’s in the public eye. It’s clear through his enthusiastic skits on his albums like Khaled Khaled or one-off collaborations like Latto’s “Big Energy” remix with Mariah. There are also his social media videos and behind-the-scenes clips with friends and other celebrities. Nowadays, Khaled has plenty to celebrate as he recently received a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame. He accepted the honor with Diddy, Fat Joe, and Jay-Z beside him during the ceremony last week. Khaled seems to still be in a celebratory mood, and the high energy that comes on was on full display during the Miami Heat’s recent playoff game.

On Sunday, the Miami Heat kicked off the first round of the NBA playoffs with a Game 1 matchup against the Atlanta Hawks. DJ Khaled was in attendance at the game as he sat courtside with his family. During a break in the game’s action, Khaled decided to leave his seat and walk onto the court in order to grab a ball and attempt a three-pointer. Despite the ambitious attempt, the shot was a complete airball, and soon enough, a security guard arrived to send him back to his seat.

While the airball might have been disappointing to Khaled, his Miami heat did win the playoff game by a score of 115-91. This is also not Khaled’s first attempt at some on-court action. Back in February, he tried his hand at the Skills Challenge obstacle course for the NBA’s All-Star Weekend. This also resulted in an airball from Khaled, but he made up for it by sinking his following shot.

You can check out Khaled’s airball from Game 1 in the video above.

Drake Posted A Photo With Taylor Swift And Fans Think New Music From Them Could Be Coming

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Two of the biggest superstars in music are Drake and Taylor Swift. More times than not, they both top the charts when they release new music whether it be an album or a song. Drake and Taylor both also have more than a decade of experience in the music industry, and despite this, they’ve yet to work on any music together. It’s not that much of a shocking note as their respective genres don’t necessarily crossover. As we know, Drake’s focus is hip-hop and R&B while Taylor’s is country and pop. Nonetheless, a photo with the two artists has something thinking (or hoping) that 2022 is the year that they grant new music to the world.

In a recent post on Instagram, Drake shared a collection of five images using the carousel feature on the app. The last photo in the carousel is one of him standing behind Taylor with his arm wrapped around her while she holds on to his arm. Drake captioned the photo, “They too soft to understand the meaning of hard work.” The image, which is a bit of a throwback, caused many to wonder if new music from the duo was on the way while others seemed more focused on the idea of Drake and Taylor hanging out together.

Drake and Taylor’s photo comes a little over five years after the hilarious Apple Music commercial that captured Drake dancing to Taylor Swift’s “Bad Blood.”

You can view the image from Drake above and see comments from fans below.

Future Gifted His Old High School With A Fully Upgraded Weight Room

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Future is undoubtedly one of the rap kings in his hometown Atlanta. Over the last decade, Future has released eight albums, sixteen mixtapes, and other projects that have contributed to his rise in not only the rap world but all of music as well. With this success, Future has also made sure to give back to his community. One example came during the coronavirus pandemic in 2020 when Future launched the #MaskOn campaign and donated masks to healthcare workers and coronavirus patients. For his latest act, Future is taking things back to his old high school with a great gift for students.

During this past Easter weekend, Future visited his alma mater Columbia High School in Decatur, Georgia with his Freewishes Foundation to gift the school’s sports program with a fully upgraded weight room. During the visit, Future met with Columbia Eagles head football coach Greg Barnett and the rest of the team to unveil the new weight room. Future’s sister Tia Wilburn, who is also one of the leaders of Freewishes Foundations, was also in attendance and she said the makeover was organized after she noted that the weight room had not improved since she graduated from the school years ago.

“Since our foundation is very big on health and wellness it was important for us to help create an environment for students in which they could be comfortable, have pride, and perform their best,” Wilburn said to FOX 5 Atlanta. “Also, research shows that students who are physically active tend to excel academically and have better attendance. They are less likely to struggle with depression and other mental health issues.”

This comes as Future, who posed with students for photos and videos, revealed that his upcoming ninth album will arrive on April 29.

You can get out footage from the weight room unveil above.

Doja Cat Helped Bring Back Taco Bell’s Beloved Mexican Pizza To Their Menus

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On Sunday, Doja Cat took the stage at the 2022 Coachella Festival and she was nothing short of impressive. She cruised through her highlight records like “Say So,” “Need To Know,” and “Juicy” while also performing b-side releases from her three albums, Amala, Hot Pink, and Planet Her. Doja also invited Rico Nasty and Tyga for her performance, which was more than worthy of being a headlining set for Coachella. Aside from her excellent performance, which included a punk-rock rendition of “Say So,” Doja also broke some awesome news to fans at the festival as well as those watching at home.

At the end of her set, Doja Cat revealed that Taco Bell would be bringing back a beloved item to their menu. “I brought back the Mexican Pizza, by the way!” she yelled to the crowd as she walked off the stage on Sunday night. Taco Bell confirmed the news the following day in a post to Instagram, writing, “You know we had to give @DojaCat the news first. The #MexicanPizza is finally coming back 5/19!”

The Mexican Pizza is a pie made of ground beef and refried beans sandwiched between a pair of crispy flour shells with cheese melted top. The item has been off Taco Bell’s menu for the past two years, and in that time, many people have called for its return, including Doja herself. Towards the end of 2020, Doja tweeted, “Please @tacobell bring back Mexican pizza and spicy potato soft taco. I’m asking you nicely first.” A little over a year later, Doja returned with another message to Taco Bell, writing, “I want my f*ckin Mexican pizza back @tacobell why u quiet.” She even went as far as to make a song about Mexican Pizza, which she admitted was completely “contractual” between her and Taco Bell.

You can view the announcement in the post above.

Rico Nasty is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

One Of Mac Miller’s Drug Dealers Was Sentenced To Nearly 11 Years In Prison

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Following Mac Miller’s tragic death towards the end of 2018, it was discovered that his passing was caused by a lethal combination of fentanyl, cocaine, and alcohol. A year after Miller’s death, three men were arrested for supplying Miller with the fatal drug which was oxycodone laced with fentanyl. Cameron James Pettit, Ryan Michael Reavis, and Andrew Walter were all found guilty for various roles in Miller’s overdose death. After the convictions were handed out, one of the drug dealers received their sentence for their involvement in Miller’s death.

According to Rolling Stone, Reavis, who is 39 years old, was recently sentenced to ten years and eleven months in prison. Reavis was accused of being the middle man between Walter, who pled guilty to selling the counterfeit oxycodone laced with fentanyl to Miller, and Pettit, supplied the pills to Miller. Before his sentencing, Reavis addressed the court saying that he was unaware that the pills were responsible for Miller’s death until he was arrested in 2019.

“This is not just a regular drug case,” Reavis said. “Somebody died, and a family is never going to get their son back. My family would be wrecked if it was me. They’d never be all right, never truly get over it. I think about that all the time. And I know that whatever happens today, I’m the lucky one because my family is here and I’m here and I’ll be with them again.” He added, “I feel terrible. This is not who I am. My perspective has changed. My heart has changed.”

You can see the full report about the sentence from Rolling Stone here.

Mac Miller is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Jack Harlow Tops The Hot 100 As ‘First Class’ Debuts At No. 1 On The ‘Billboard’ Chart

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Jack Harlow’s ascent has been front and center of the music world as of late and now he has just cemented it with his first solo No. 1 song on the Billboard Hot 100. Harlow’s latest single, “First Class,” debuted at No. 1 on this week’s chart (dated April 23), unseating Harry Styles’ short-lived run at the top with “As It Was.”

Harlow has technically had a song claim the top spot on the Hot 100 before, because he was featured on Lil Nas X’s smash hit “Industry Baby,” but this is a different animal for sure. Before “First Class” topped the chart, Harlow’s previous solo high was at No. 2 for “Whats Poppin” in 2020. Harlow seems pretty pleased with himself today though, tweeting out “How does it taste?” along with an image of Billboard’s official announcement.

Styles’ “As It Was” drops a spot to No. 2 this week, with “Heat Waves” by Glass Animals coming in at No. 3. Latto’s “Big Energy” drops down to No. 4 while”Enemy” by Imagine Dragons featuring JID rounds out the Top 5.

This was also the second No. 1 ever for Harlow’s producer Rogét Chahayed, who was also behind the boards for Travis Scott’s “Sicko Mode.” Chahayed is part of the production squad for “Nail Tech” as well, the other single off of Harlow’s upcoming album, Come Home The Kids Miss You, which is due out on May 6th.

Jack Harlow is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Kendrick Lamar Channeled Michael Jordan For His New Album Announcement And Fans Love It

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For most of the day so far, the music world was focused on looking back at the first weekend of Coachella. Everything changed this afternoon, though, when Kendrick Lamar came out of nowhere and announced that his next album is called Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers and it’s set for release on May 13.

Lamar shared the news via a tweet and almost immediately after doing so, he became the No. 1 trending topic on Twitter. While most of the conversation consisted of excited knee-jerk reactions to the news, some fans took a minute to observe how Lamar’s announcement bears a striking resemblance (intentionally, it appears) to an iconic Michael Jordan moment.

Lamar shared the news via a simple letter that plainly states the news of his album, with the formatting of the note seemingly modeled after the famously minimalist fax MJ sent in 1995 to confirm he was ending his retirement and returning to the NBA. Journalist Andreas Hale also observed that Lamar’s announcement comes almost exactly 27 years after Jordan’s: MJ’s note was dated March 18, 1995, while Lamar’s is from today, April 18.

Imitating the Jordan fax has actually become a bit of a trend in hip-hop lately: Migos did the same thing last May and Logic followed suit the next month.

Check out some more Lamar reactions, to both the Jordan similarities and to the album news more broadly, below.